Research Topics
| 1. |
Deepen research
on tolerance induction to organ transplantation
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Recent
experiments in small animals show that immunological tolerance
can be achieved that allows graft survival without administering
drugs to prevent rejection.
Studies on immunological tolerance induction have to be developed
to eliminate the need for transplanted patients to chronically
assume antirejection drugs, which reduce the natural defence
system and increase the risk of tumours. .
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| 2.
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Finding new non - toxic immunosuppressants
to prevent both short and long - term damage in transplanted
organs
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Patient and graft survivals have reached good
extents in the short term thanks to therapeutics, which allow
efficient prevention of acute rejection. Nonetheless, chronic
immunosuppression put the patients at risk of opportunistic
infections and cancer. As a consequence comes the need for interventions
able to avoid acute rejection by low dosage of medications.
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| 3.
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Enhanced methodologies in transplantation
to improve organs' availability
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a) Cells' transplantation
Some metabolic disorders, such as diabetes, are curable by cell
transplantation instead of whole organ transplantation, by less
invasive and traumatic surgery.
b) Widening of donor selection
criteria
In Italy, as in all over the world, the rarity of donors (and,
hence, of organs) represents the main obstacle to performing
transplantation. As the candidates' number is ever growing,
waiting times are growing as well, so that the percentage of
patients actually undergoing transplantation will dramatically
decreased. One way to improve organs' availability is to widen
selection criteria for donors in particular taking into account
the elderly, the diabetic and the hypertensive.
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| 4.
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Xenotransplantation
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Due to the dramatic
scarcity of organs the attention of the principal transplant
centers are focusing efforts in the area of xenotransplantation,
that is the use of animal organs for transplantation.
Only through xenotransplantation will it be possible to provide
a timely response to the ever increasing need for transplants,
and through genetic engineering, eliminate rejection.
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| 5.
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Farmacogenomic studies to predict antirejection
drug response in transplanted patients
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Each patient displays a unique response to antirejection
drug. This can determine an inadequate immunosuppression, thus
exposing the patients to unnecessary risks such as loss of the
graft or, on the contrary, to the side effects of chronic immunosuppression.
The aim of the research is to identify possible alterations
in the genes involved in antirejection drug response, which
will allow to customize the most adequate regimen for every
single patient even before surgery.
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